Gregory Peck

Prepare to be dazzled by “Duel in the Sun” at the Stanford Theater. King Vidor’s torrid 1946 Western love triangle stars a mindblowing roster of stars including Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotton, Lilian Gishand a dreamy Gregory Peck as Luke, the lascivious bad boy the late great actor once described as a varmint. “Duel in the Sun” plays Jan. 16-18 at that jewel of Palo Alto that is the Stanford on a doublebill with the far less memorable “Portrait of Jennie.” For the record, these movies are part of a Jennifer Jones Festival at the Stanford but it’s hard to notice other actors when Peck is in the frame, no? Also, it’s best to ignore the racial subtext, or at least write it off as period camp, and just succumb to the pleasures of the finale, one of the most deliciously lurid shoot-outs in the history of the Old West. Tagline: Emotions . . . As Violent As The Wind-Swept Prairie !